Lesser Horsehoe bats, Orielton FSC

We spent a magical evening watching Lesser Horseshoe bats in the stables. They emitted a frequency of 110kHZ,unlike the Common Pipistrelles which we also saw and emitted about 45kHZ. Lesser Horseshoe bats are most common in Wales, and the stables is a SSSI on account of them. At times they came so close that we were almost nose to nose with them!

Bentlass and Angle Bay, Pembrokeshire

Today we spent the day in Pembrokeshire, surveying saltmarsh vegetation at Bentlass and Angle Bay. It was a beautiful day, if very muddy location!



Sea Aster Aster tripolium and Golden-ringed Dragonfly. I was surprised to see this superb dragonfly on a saltmarsh, photographed here sitting on Spartina anglica. Previously I have only seen the species in moorland areas. This particular individual has very tatty wings which probably explains why I got so close!


We saw lots of Short-winged Coneheads in amongst the Sea Club Rush as they are at Marshside.


This juvenile Little Grebe was remarkably tame. In the morning we set up small mammal traps in the woods.

Eccleston Mere

No sign of the American Black Tern today apparently, but there was still a Black Tern on the mere at 7:30am. Also 1 Kingfisher, 2 adult Mute Swans and 4 Tufted Ducks.

Eccleston Mere 13:00-17:30

The American Black Tern was present again from 4pm onwards, now accompanied by a Eurasian Black Tern for comparison. I'm pretty sure that the bird flying onto the bouy is the American Black Tern, but all of the other photos are of its new companion. If you compare these photos with those from earlier in the week, you can notice several differences, but most notably the pure white flanks and underwing of the Eurasian bird. Also this afternoon 1 Peregrine, Grey Wagtail, 2 Buzzards and 1 Mandarin (all 11 were present early morning but not seen by me.).

Eccleston Mere 9:30-11:00

No sign of the American Black Tern during this visit, though apprently it had been present first thing according to an angler. It's spent most of the morning on Prescot Reservoirs with a Black Tern, but hopefully they will both come to the mere at some stage during the day. Best I saw this morning was an adult Little Grebe and a Kingfisher.

Eccleston Mere 18:00-19:15

No sign of the American Black Tern this evening, but there were an astonishing 11 Mandarins on the mere! Ten of them were in one flock, whilst the 11th (presumably the one that's been here for a week) kept to itself. Also this evening 2 Kingfishers and 1 Buzzard.




Mandarins in flight. As they were flying around, a Sparrowhawk came over and the Mandarins turned and chased it into the hedge, and then landed in the water nearby and seemed to be looking into the hedge as if searching for the Sparrowhawk.

Eccleston Mere 08:45-10:15

American Black Tern still dancing its way across the mere this morning in its never ending feeding frenzy. It's been present for 5 days now and I've still not seen it land, which is a pity because it's a real pain to photograph well in flight, despite showing fantastically well in the excellent morning sunlight, down to 15-20m.

Rainford Mosslands

Goldcrest 3 Old Coach Road
Swallows and House Martins 200 Clare's Moss, Old Coach Road.

Eccleston Mere 18:00-19:00

The American Black Tern spent most of the day on the mere today, showing exceptionally well in the good light (what a contrast from this morning!). Also on the mere, the eclipse male Mandarin.

Eccleston Mere 07:30-08:30

It was a bleak start to the day, made all the more disappointing by the now predictable non-appearance of the American Black Tern. However lets see what this afternoon brings before we write it off for good. Certainly this weather should encourage it to stay. Not a completely blank visit though, I did see the first 3 Wigeon of the autumn, along with the usual 2 Mute Swans and now 8 Tufted Ducks.

Eccleston Mere 18:30-19:45 the return of the American Black Tern

Amazingly the American Black Tern was back on the mere this evening after spending most of the day at Pennington Flash, 10 miles away to the east. It's incredible enough that a juvenile bird, perhaps no more than 3 months old, can make it across the Atlantic to find itself at Eccleston Mere, but even more amazing that after travelling east to Pennington Flash, where it meets up with a European Black Tern, which it spends most of the day with, it then decides to leave it's new companion and head 10 miles back to the mere. How did it find it's way back, why did it ignore all of the other waters in the area? There is a thesis in there somewhere.

This is its third day, and so far it's not been seen before 4pm. Perhaps there's a pattern developing and a clue as to when you should visit if you haven't seen it yet......